How to Catch a Chat
by shippersindisguise
Summary: A wife dead, and a father devastated, isolating himself from his only child. Escape is found in the form of a black cat suit but with that comes its own troubles. Who is Paris's newest cat burglar and can an unlikely friendship bring an end to the rash of robberies spreading across downtown? No magic AU.
1. Chapter 1

"How to Catch A Chat"

A wife dead, and a father devastated, isolating himself from his only child. Escape is found in the form of a black cat suit but with that comes its own troubles. Who is Paris's newest cat burglar and can an unlikely friendship bring an end to the rash of robberies spreading across downtown?

Or

Everyone knew of the terrible accident that killed the wife of famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste; much less well known was the mysterious disappearance and supposed death of one Sabine Dupain-Cheng. Even less publicized was how her husband was inconsolable after her death, finding comfort only with a bottle. After losing the bakery his daughter, Marionette Dupain-Cheng, takes their care into her own-albeit-questionably moral hands.

* * *

Chapter 1

Adrien glanced up at the sky as he walked home for his latest photoshoot. The grey clouds that had been hanging over the city the whole day seemed to suddenly darken. He broke into a jog as the skies opened up. He was still quite a few blocks from home and his father was going to worry if he was late. Even since the death of his mother, it seemed that his father struggled with letting him out of his sight. Then again he would be even more upset if his top model got sick the day before the kickoff of the new Agreste fall line.

The crack of lightning that lit the sky quickly made the decision for him. His father wouldn't be mad at him for being a little late, especially when the alternative was being struck with lightning. Luckily the photoshoot had taken place at one of the local wharves. Or more specifically the wharf that Agreste Design and Manufacturing Inc. happened to own several warehouses on. Punching the code into the electronic lock, Adrien waited for the click to signify that the door had unlocked.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

Pushing down the growing panic, Adrien tried the code again. Nothing. Why wasn't it working?! It's not like they ever change the code or—oh. Adrien felt like an idiot. Last week a high ranking designer had left the company and as a safety precaution…all the codes were changed. Looks like he was going to be late _and_ struck by lightning.

Just as he mentally prepared himself for the dash back home the unmistakable click of the door opening sounded behind him. Turning he saw the door had indeed opened but not on its own. A slight figure stood in the door clad in black jeans and an oversized black sweatshirt with cat ears on the hood, which was pulled up hiding the person's face. A back pack was slung over their shoulder and bulged suspiciously with what was most likely stolen goods.

 _My father's goods._ Adrian realized suddenly and took a step towards the intruder. He wasn't quite sure what he was planning. Grab him and call the police? Just take the bag and run? In all his lessons with Nathalie, she never covered how to apprehend a thief.

His movement broke the tension between the two and immediately the thief spun on his heel and darted back into the warehouse. Against his better judgment, Adrien followed a second later. The thief was running flat out, leaping over tables, and sliding under racks of material in a manner than Adrien simply could keep up with. He did have one advantage though: he'd spent his whole childhood playing in this building while his parents worked and he knew exactly where the only other door was

* * *

Skidding around a corner, the intruder paused for a moment to catch their breath, all the while listening for footsteps. Nothing. Perfect, or it would be if she could just find that door?! She'd cased the whole building, so she knew it was around here somewhere. Moving more cautiously now, she meticulously made her way through the remaining portion of the building, until finally finding the exit.

 _And the blond nuisance is nowhere in sight_ she thought happily. She made it two steps towards the door, when the blond nuisance came barreling out where he'd been lurking hidden among a display of ribbons and tackled her.

They both fell to the ground with a grunt. The thrill of excitement Adrien had felt where he successfully tackled the guy vanished as he realized two things. 1) He had no idea how to fight and 2) The thief did.

 _For someone so little he was surprisingly strong_ , Adrien barely had time to think as he was thrown off and slid across the concrete floor. Before he could even get up something heavy and coarse smashed into his face. He batted frantically at it, but before he could get a grip it was gone, leaving him dazed and slightly confused. Lying flat on his back with a bloody nose while the thief backed away (and had the audacity to wave goodbye!) was not what Adrian had expected when he decided to play the hero and yet there was nothing else he could do as the thief quickly climbed up the storage shelves and vanished from sight.

"Ow!" he yelped, gingerly touching his nose. Noses weren't supposed to hurt like that; oh his father was going to kill him.

Crawling to his feet, Adrian immediately stumbled over something soft. A blot of green fabric. And a black one over there! And some gray! They must have dropped out of the thief's bag, he realized.

He puffed out his chest a little; he may not have caught the thief but he saved his father's materials. And who knows? Whoever went through all this trouble just for cloth probably wouldn't be very happy about leaving it behind.

"You'll be back" He said quietly to himself, glancing back at were the intruder had gone, "And when you do, I'll be ready" he promised, but the only answer he received was distant creaking, which quickly faded.

* * *

The thief cautiously stood up from her crouched position on top of the shelving units in the warehouse. Stretching, she could just reach the edge of the window pane above her and pushed it to the side, with a little too much force. Wincing at the loud creak that reverberated around the building as the ancient window opened, she grabbed the lip of the window and pulled herself out into the roof. The rain had lessened slightly, but the metal roof was still dangerously slick.

 _Exactly why she'd planned to exit through the door instead of the roof_ , she thought ruefully. Readjusting the bag on her back, a flash of horror ripped through her body.

It was empty

"What? How?" She gasped, "Why that little…" The blond nuisance must have opened it somehow when she hit him over the head with it. All that risk, all that planning, for nothing. Flicking off the now soaking wet hood, sad blue eyes stared down into the building for one last moment before turning away.

There was nothing to do about it now. She shook the water from her face, new determination lighting her eyes. She was getting those materials, and next time no one was stopping her


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"You fell."

Adrien winced at his father's flat voice. Granted it wasn't the most well thought out excuse, but in his defense, he didn't have much time to think of a better one. Now he just had to make it work.

"Technically I tripped" Adrien corrected as he was ushered up towards his room, "I was rushing to get out of the rain and then this cat, a black cat, yeah, this black cat just comes out of nowhere and trips me!"

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, "Adrien, I don't–" he sighed, "Take a shower, the doctor will be here shortly" His hand lingered on Adrien's shoulder for a second, before turned and walking stiffly back down the hall.

Adrien stared at his father's retreating back in surprise. He had been expecting shouting, accusations, punishments, anything expect this chilly dismissal. Unsure over whether to be grateful or not, he crossed through his room to the bathroom and stripped out his clothes, leaving them in a soaking pile on the floor. The staff would take care of them later. Stepping into the shower, he let the hot water wash away the stress from his shoulders.

OoOoO

A streetlight flicked faintly at the end of the block before another crack of lightening sent it out completely. Normally the corner would be filled with people begging for money or just loitering, but tonight the rain had driven everyone away. The only person left was the small girl in a black sweatshirt, soaked to her sink as she trudged along the dirty sidewalk. She turned down an alley to a dingy apartment building and slipped inside. Hers was in the basement.

As the door creaked open, she peaked inside. Nothing. Breathing a sigh of relief she shoved the door open all the way and went inside. The only light came from a tiny window high on the wall, but it illumined enough for the girl to maneuver through the kitchen to her bedroom. A flick of the light switch showed that power had once again been turned off for the apartment. The thought of a freezing cold shower wasn't appealing so the girl just quickly dried off and changed into pajamas after wringing out her clothes and hanging them to dry.

Tonight had been lucky, she lost the materials but that boy had no idea what he was doing. Next time, it might be a police officer to find her instead of a kid. She needed to be prepared. Moving quietly, the girl opened the door to the final room of the apartment.

The only sound in the room was a brief snore as she pulled an old chest from the closet and began to rummage through.

"Mar- Marinette?" the horse voice cut through her concentration.

"Papi! Oh, did I wake you? I'm sorry, so sorry, but uh nothing to worry about so you can go back to bed now!" She panicked, giving what was supposed to be a reassuring chuckle. Apparently it wasn't because her father stumbled out of bed and staggered towards her.

"Oh Marinette" he said upon catching sight of the box behind her back, "I miss her too. Can I – can I look through it with you?"

As he came closer she could see that his eyes were red and bloodshot, but his speech was clear. Maybe he actually was trying? "Of course Papi" she smiled sadly placing the box between them.

Gently he removed a stack of photographs and stared for at the top one for a moment, mesmerized. When he spoke again, his voice was husky, "She always was so beautiful" he whispered, placing the picture back in box, giving Marinette a glimpse of the familiar photo: a tiny blue haired woman in a white wedding dress caught mid laugh with her arms wrapped around massive husband.

The next picture was of her mother perched on her father's shoulder, while they decorated the top of a gigantic cake. Neither was looking at the camera, instead both were completely focused on their masterpiece.

With a choking sob, her father lurched away, dropping the pictures. He left the room in a rush and Marinette quickly followed once she heard the familiar rustling for the kitchen.

Her father stood next to the light switch, flipping it absentmindedly, a bottle already open on the counter next to him.

"Papi, the power's shut off." A slight accusatory tone crept into her voice. When he only grunted in response, she continued "The bill was due two days ago. You _told_ me you turned it in! What happened to the money? What did you do with it this time? Was it booze? Or gambling?" She was yelling now not caring who heard them. Plenty of their neighbors' arguments had come through these thin walls, only fair they should return the favor.

"Mari, 'ey 'ey 'ey" he shushed, leaned down to kiss the top of her head, "Don't worry, sugar. I'll take care of it." He said, taking another swig from the bottle.

Suddenly Marinette was just exhausted. Without a word, she turned on her heel and walked quickly to her room. Flopping on the bed fully clothed, she stared up at the ceiling. Thankfully rent had already been paid for the month, so that was safe but, but, _but what am I going to do?_ she mentally wailed. They didn't have any more money and now they would have to pay late fees and a reconnection charge on top of it all.

If she could just get her dad to – no he'd never find a job. He'd try, maybe…but this?...this was up to her and it meant she had to do something she really didn't want to. Marching back to her father's room, she snatched two short metal poles from her mother's box and stomped back to her room, shoving the eskrima under her bed for the moment.

She didn't want to steal. She really didn't. The fabric had been her compromise; that way she could actually use her skills to make something instead of shamelessly plundering someone else's belongings. Now, thanks in part to a certain aggravating blond boy, she didn't have that luxury.

OoOoO

"Thanks!" Adrien called to his driver as he stepped out onto the curb in front of the Collège Françoise Dupont High School. As usual Nino was waiting for him by his locker.

"Dude! What happened to your face?" The normally calm dark skinned boy stared in shock at the medical tape over his friend's nose, "Your old man didn't make you get that nose job he was talking about, did he?"

A surge of affection welled up for his friend, "No I'm fine. I just…fell"

"You fell." Nino's flat reply instantly reminded Adrien of his father's same reaction. Okay, so neither of them believed it, he really needed to think of a better excuse.

"You have to promise not to tell _anyone_ " he stressed, pulling Nino to the corner of the room "I was walking home from my photoshoot on Friday and….."

He proceeded to tell Nino everything that happened over the weekend with the thief and how he had stopped him from stealing anything. When he finished, Nino wordlessly pulled out his phone and typed something in, "You mean this guy?" he asked, showing a news article about a robbery the previous night. The article contained one amateur shot of the culprit; it was too blurry to make out any details…expect for one. The cat ears sticking up off the hood of the man's sweatshirt.

"He's good apparently. Broke into three houses over the weekend" Nino said, taking the phone back "No fingerprints of anything. Here's the weird part – "

"What's weird?" Alya cut in, draping an arm over her boyfriend's shoulder, before catching a glimpse of Nino's phone screen,

"Oh! Are you talking about Chat Noir? I heard he broke into a bunch of house but only stole from one! At least that we know of" she added mysteriously. As she spoke she was already pulling up other articles on her phone about the newest cat burglar in Paris, "It's actually gaining a lot of publicity because, well, one the guy's dressed as a cat, but two the police can't figure out what he wants. I mean, why risk breaking into somewhere if you don't need to right?"

"See dude, way dangerous. He could have given you a lot more than a broken nose!"

"Wait!" Alya grabbed Adrien's shoulders, "Chat Noir broke your nose? Yes!" she pumped her fist in the air, before having the grace to look slightly abashed "Not that I'd Chat Noir to break your nose. I just – no one takes a _junior_ " she spat the word contemptuously, "reporter seriously. But if I had a first person encounter with Chat Noir?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Alya! We literally just talked about this!" Nino exclaimed pulling the two apart, "Chat Noir is dangerous. You promised to stop RISKING YOUR LIFE for a scoop. Ergo you are _not_ going after Chat Noir. You promised" he added in a softer tone.

Ayla's brow furrowed, in frustration. So maybe she had promised to stop being so reckless, but this wasn't reckless! This was her chance! Her big break! Nino was the one being ridiculous, not her!

She opened her mouth to say as much when Adrien stepped between the two, "This Chat Noir guy might turn out to be nothing." He reminded them, "Who knows? He might get caught tomorrow, so maybe you could just do the interview now and see what happens with the rest?"

Neither Nino nor Alya were very pleased with the compromise but none the less they agreed and after school they all found themselves crowded around Ayla's computer in her room, arguing over her new blog's layout. Adrien gave her sole rights to the interview, his only requirement was to stay anonymous. It was only thing to his father to _suspect_ he was lying and an entirely other thing to _know_ his son was almost held up by a wanted criminal.

OoOoO

"Yes black is an obvious choice, but you can't have _just_ black. That's too lame"

"See - like I said!" Adrien crowed, giving his DJ friend a fist bump, "Do black and white"

"Boring" Nino and Alya said in unison

Black with pink, blue, red, orange, light pink, purple, dark pink (Alya really wanted pink)and even brown had all been suggested and rejected before Alya clicked on the next color: a bright green. Black with green accents filled the screen, and the three friends grinned at each other.

This one would work.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Marinette worked her way quickly across the rooftops, before dropping down into an alley several blocks away from the house she had just robbed. The jump was a higher one than she had done before and instead of the gracefully landing she had hoped for, she slipped and rolled several feet with a surprised squeak.

Slightly dazed, the bluenette staggered to her feet. Her backpack had been thrown a couple feet away. Snatching it up, she shrugged off her black sweatshirt to stuff in the bag, her fingers catching on a new tear. Sigh, that meant another patch to add to the quiltwork that was quickly overtaking her disguise.

Granted she was glad it was fabric and not her skin that was doing the ripping, but still – it was the third time this week she would have to mend it and she was running low on black thread.

Maybe a sturdier material? Leather could work…

Her mind whirled with thoughts for possible new designs as she walked so it was hardly her fault that she didn't hear the voices calling after her.

The first thing she noticed was the hand on her shoulder…. then the badge of policeman's chest.

"Miss, we'd like to ask you a few questions"

OoOoO

Alya's blog about Chat Noir was taking off like wild fire. People just couldn't read enough of _Le Chat Voyou_. The public was growing enamored with the man who dared to pull of daring heists, even in daylight, while wearing cat ears! It was like he completely accepted the cat burglar persona.

Alya's own creative writing style and personal touch help to boost the popularity of the site. Even so much that citizens were staring to go _Le Chat Voyou_ rather than the traditional news site. Of course it helped that she was the only one who had a personal interview one of Chat's victims.

A benefit she quickly realized wouldn't last.

"Please! Pretty, pretty, please, Adrien! I need more info. You have to know something else, anything! A motive, where he might be next, I'd even settle for a physical description at this point!"

The blond boy shitted uncomfortably in the seat, "Alya I already told you everything about that night, and are you sure you should be looking into this stuff? I mean, his next target? That sounds like you could get hurt and – "

"Adrien!" a phone was suddenly thrust in front of his face, showing an ever increasing number of views on the site "Look at those numbers. I. Have. Followers. They depend on me for information, for the facts. I have a duty to these people. And I will never stop bugging you about this" she added slyly.

Knowing she would hold herself to that, Adrien relented "Okay. Maybe I didn't tell you _everything_ …"

OoOoO

 _Calm down!_ Marinette ordered herself, _This could be about anything, like….umm..uh…jaywalking?_

"I'm sure you've heard about the recent string of robberies in the area?"

Her backpack, currently bulging with recently stolen loot from said robberies, suddenly grew ten times heavier. Swallowing, Marinette struggled to think of any reasonable excuse and without even meaning to, began babbling

"Oh yes I know about those! Not like I *know* know about them just that I've heard about it happening. Not personally though! I would never steal something" A nervous giggle escaped her lips, "I've just heard people talking about it or….in, umm, the newspapers?" she finished tentatively, a too wide smile stretched across her face.

The cop stared down at her in amusement, "Riiiight, Remember this Chat Noir is a very dangerous man so if you do see something, go immediately to the police station and ask for Officer Roger"

"Sure thing!" Marinette said as cheerfully and unsuspiciously as she could, before turning and all but running away.

Officer Roger watched as the fidgety girl tore off down the street. What was it about cops that made even the most innocent kids nervous, he wondered?

OoOoO

Marinette didn't stop running until she was safely locked behind the front door of her apartment. She leaned against the wall and slide to the ground, the panic building up inside her.

 _They've found me. He knows. I'm going to be arrested and spend in rest of my life in jail! And they probably don't even let prisoners make their own clothes so I'll have to wear a hideous orange jumpsuit forever! And what will happen to Papa and ….wait…did he say man?_

Jumping up, she rushed to the kitchen, snatching the newspaper off the counter. Reading off the headline she sighed in relief "CHAT NOIR STILL AT LARGE: Police are warning citizens beware of a 20 to 24 year old Caucasian male, approximately 5 ft in height. The suspect was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and cat ears. If seen call 02-35-58-17-77"

Marinette slowly lowered the paper, her brow furrowing in confusion. They thought she was a white man? She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, how dare they just _assume_ she was a man! Women are perfectly capable of committing crimes to, thank you very much.

And white?

Why, just why?

But on the other hand….no one was going to match that description to herself. Ha! She could literally walk right by a policeman with a backpack full of valuables she had just stolen and he wouldn't suspect a thing!

Grappling with her emotions for a moment, Marinette decided she justifiably upset over their profiling skills, or lack thereof, but considering the circumstances was willing to let it slide. Just this once.

OoOoO

To the untrained observer a pile of cast off fabric clippings seems like it an excellent cushiony place to sit in an otherwise barren warehouse. After three hours of sitting on pile of cast off fabric clippings in an otherwise barren warehouse, however, Adrien would consider himself an expert on the subject, and would highly recommend sitting literally anywhere in said barren warehouse except for a cast off pile of fabric scraps.

After heavily berating him for not telling her that Chat Noir hadn't succeeded in stealing the fabric from his father's warehouse, Alya had promptly dragged him into an extensive stakeout back at the "scene of crime" as she loved to call it. This was the fourth day they had raced directly from school to the docks the second the bell went off and would soon be the fourth day they had absolutely no sign of the cat themed thief. The extended setback hardly put a damper on Ayla's maniacal energy, but Adrien could hardly say the same.

It was a clever idea he had to admit, but the messes it left behind were growing impossible to clean up. Nino was – of course – not included on the plan, as he would have wholehearted objected, so Adrien was left coming up with excuses as to why he ran off every day with his best friend's girlfriend for hours on end, during which time period neither one answered their phones or had any logical reason for their absence.

And his father….oh boy. Adrien had used every excuse he could think up for why he was coming home so late each night, from group projects he was working on to, the bus broke down and he had to walk home from school

(He had thought that was a pretty good one until approximately two seconds after he said it and realized it doesn't take six hours to walk the three blocks from the school to his house. Oops)

Adrien shifted uncomfortably, plucking another pin out of his seat. "Alya, we've been here for –"

A hand in his face cut him off

"Shhhh!"

Sighing he brushed the reporter's hand away and started again only to be once more shushed into silence.

"Listen" she whispered. Adrien almost ignored her warning, but just then a faint clank of metal sounded from the opposite end of the warehouse, "He's here!" Alya hissed, trying and failing to keep the excitement out of her voice as Adrien leveled her with a hard stare.

"Remember your promise" he warned as she began creeping towards the source of the noise. The reporter graced him with a roll of her eyes and a nod before darting around the next shelf of materials, and out of sight.

Adrien watched her go, knowing full well that she had no intention of keeping her promise to stay far away and out of sight.

He should probably go after her, should he? Oh why did he let himself get roped into this mess?

OoOoO

Marinette lay flat, stretched out along the top of a shelving unit. She watched with amusement the ombre haired girl's attempts at being sneaky. The girl darted quickly from hiding spot to hiding spot, first mistake. The quick motion was much more likely to draw the eye. Her attempts at silent walking were commendable, for an amateur, but she had a habit of scuffing one foot too much.

The real reason that Marinette had to keep stifling her laughter though was the way the girl stuck just enough of her head to see around each corner before moving. To her it seemed like she was barely visible but people always seem to forget that there's a good three or four inches of skull above your eyes, which is then hanging out in a very conspicuous manner.

Leaving the mystery girl to her "detective" work, Marinette dropped silently to the ground. Making her way to the desired section of the warehouse, she began stuffing the required materials in her backpack.

A hood she wore did an excellent job of disguising her identity (and apparently making her look like a man), but in a dark shadowy warehouse it was more helping at blinding her than hiding her. Tossing back the cowl, she grabbed the last things she needed, a couple spools of thread, and turned to leave.

"Again?" Marinette cried, more annoyed than anything else to see the same boy who had foiled her original attempt at robbery standing in the aisle staring at her.

"You're… a girl" Strangely, Adrien found this fact to be more unnerving than coming face to face with the person who broke his nose.

"What!" the black clad figure looked down at her chest in shock, "When did that happen? I can't believe no one ever told me!" The glint of amusement that shone in her eyes faded as quickly as it had come. "Unfortunately you've seen too much. And now" twin silver batons twirled out her behind her back, "You're a problem"

**Author's Note: _Le Chat Voyou_ means The Rogue Kitten. Not a great name I know, but the French version sounds cool : )


	4. Chapter 4

Hi! So this took me literately forever to finish. I just couldn't get it to the point I was completely satisfied with. There are still a few things I'd like to alter but I realized if I didn't finish it now, I'd never finish it. So here you go! Hope you like it!

~Shippersindisguise

* * *

Chapter 4

 _I'm going to die here. Chat Noir is going to beat me to death with a stick and if that doesn't kill me then Father definitely will! And I'll never be able to go to the new Ultimate Mecha Strike movie with Nino next week!_ Adrien's thoughts raced as he stared down the girl's batons. Chat advanced a step, and Adrien hastily shuffled backwards, continuing to mirror each other movements until Adrien felt to the cold cement of the wall press into his back. Racks blocked any chance of escape to the left or right. Nowhere left to run…except right past Chat Noir.

Panic flared inside him as he frantically searched for anything to defend himself, his eyes falling on only a box of appendages for the wooden mannequins his father used in the design rooms. Snatching up a wooden arm, he held the limb into front of him, feeling woefully inadequate until a flash of genius reminded him. He was a fencer! And a damn good one too, he should be able to defeat some alley cat, whose probably never trained in their life let alone with the best fencing instructor this side of Slovenia! Assuming the en garde position he raised the makeshift saber

"Allez" He smirked, lunging forward.

T he girl reacted almost instantaneously, bring one baton down hard on the wooden arm splintering it and using the other to sweep his legs out from under him sending him flying into the metal shelving unit to his side. A sharp crack echoed through the warehouse as Adrien's head struck the support beam. Luckily, years of ingrained fencing instinct came through and as he was blacking out Adrien had the forethought to mutter "Corps-à-corps! Black…card" before succumbing to the darkness.

OoOoO

Shock and annoyance flowed liberally through Marinette as she stared at the boy standing before her. It was the same guy who had foiled her theft the first time, she was sure of it! What was he doing here again? What lunatic thought hanging out at a warehouse at night was fun?

Actually forget that, who cares - what to do with him now is the question. Marinette took a small step forward, testing the boy's reaction. He immediately backed up, bumping into the wall.

While Blondie effectively trapped himself, Marinette mind was running a thousand miles a minute. He had seen her face, so letting Blondie go wasn't a great option. Killing him was off the table too. She may be a thief, but not by desire, and no one was going to turn her into a murderer. She could tie him up, just to give herself some time to get out of the area. That wasn't a bad idea, but she didn't have any rope. Wait! – She had snagged some silver cording for decorations on a whim earlier, that would work perfectly!

Armed with a plan, Marinette pulled herself from her thoughts just in time to see Blondie charging towards her wielding….a wooden arm?

Her mother's lessons flashed through mind, and she reacted instinctually. One baton swept upwards knocking the arm/sword thing out of his hand, while using the other to knock his feet out from under him. Marinette winced as Blondie crashed into the shelving unit. Okay, maybe she was a little too forceful.

Stay calm, Marinette. Stay calm. Everything is going to be fine. He's going to stand back up in a second and be perfectly fine…..He's not moving. Is he dead? He's dead! Oh, I'm going to be sick.

"Corps-à-corps! Black…card"

Huh?

Marinette gaped as Blondie muttered a few words of nonsense before his head lolled to the side limply. Thankfully, the steady rise and fall of his chest could still be seen. Inched forward she gave a little nudge but the boy stayed still. Well…. this did solve her problem. Mostly.

Slinging her backpack over one shoulder, she glanced back at the boy. He just looked so young? Helpless? Maybe even cute? She wasn't sure what word exactly she was looking for, all she knew was that she couldn't leave him crumpled in a pile of fabric bolts and pincushions until someone found him.

Which probably wouldn't be that long with the detective girl in the building, she realized, grabbing the blond's legs to drag him away from the shelf. Scribbling a short apology on a crumpled sticky note found at the bottom of her backpack, Marinette almost made it the end of the aisleway before heavily sighing. Marching back, she quickly rolled some fabric and tucked the makeshift pillow under the blond boy's head with a huff.

Darting back towards the exit, Marinette just managed to get out of sight before the fledging-detective came running down the aisle.

"Adrien!" she shouted breathlessly, skidding to a stop by the unconscious boy's body.

 _Adrien_ , Marinette rolled the name over in her mind, _Eh, Blondie suits him better._ Then, flipping her hood back up to hide her face the security camera, she slipped out the door and into the dwindling light outside.

Alya frantically ran through every first aid she knew as she crouched over Adrien's limp form. He was still breathing, luckily, but a large lump was forming on his forehead. She grabbed a roll of material and went to slip in under Adrien's head when she paused. He already had a pillow…..but who would have done that? Chat Noir had attacked Adrien! It's lucky he's still alive at all, why would a hardened criminal bother to make a pillow for their victim?

"They wouldn't"Alya muttered harshly, dismissing the thought immediately. Right now she needed to focus on Adrien. There was no way she could carry him out and he needed to see a doctor as soon as possible, so waiting until he woke up was out of the question.

That left one option. Pulling out her phone she slowly scrolled through her contacts coming to one number she particularly dreaded calling. The reporter hesitated for a moment then pressed call. The harsh voice on the end picked up almost immediately.

"Umm, hello M. Agreste"

The sun had completely set by the time Marinette it back to their apartment. Humming softly she dropped her bag of fabrics by the door, before tiptoeing into the kitchen to not wake her father snoring softly on the couch. The only grocery store in the neighbor was small and dirty with bread that tasted just strange enough to make you question it, but it was cheap and close enough that she could usually grab a few things on her way back from her less…."legal" activities, like she had tonight.

Her soft humming filled the kitchen as she quickly put away the groceries she had bought. Slicing a banana, she spread peanut butter over a tortilla. Nearing the chorus, the humming faded away, replaced with words. "You are my sunshine! My only sunshine! You make me happy when-"

At the mention of sunshine, an image of a now familiar blond face popped into her head. The room grew cold. _I saw his face. He saw my face. He saw me! He knows what I look like! The police will know who I am and I'll get arrested and I'll spend the rest of my life in jail!_

Whirling around, fully prepared to pack her bags and leave the country, Marinette made it two feet before tripping over the open dishwasher. An inconveniently placed kitchen counter cracked against her skull and she collapsed on the ground.

* * *

**Author's Note: some fencing terms for you**

en garde – starting position

allez – "go", starts the match

Corps-à-corps – any move where the fencers come into contact with each other, considered illegal

Black card – punishment for a severe rule violation


End file.
